NORFOLK, Va. – The Old Dominion wrestling program was named one of 12 schools in the nation as a finalist for the annual Best of Brand Top Newcomer Award, as presented by the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) in coordination with Elite Level Sports Management (ELSM).

“This is a testament to our sports information staff that we are being recognized for this award,” said ODU head coach Steve Martin. “Our entire athletic department takes pride in marketing our program on a national level. I think it is important to communicate what is going on with the Old Dominion wrestling program to the general public!”

The Top Newcomer Award, for which the Monarch wrestling team has been named a finalist, looks to recognize “the program that storms onto the social networking scene and builds their program’s brand the right way.” The Top Newcomer Award is one of three of the NWCA’s “Annual Achievement Awards,” which are touted as being representative of the highest honor in Best of Brand awards.

According to the NWCA official website, “The Best of Brand awards are designed to reward programs for their investments made in marketing initiatives.” The Best of Brand program was established in 2011 and has expanded greatly since then, now providing a total of eight awards, each of which aims to encapsulate slightly different aspects of marketing success.

“Special congrats to all of the finalists in the Gold Standard category,” said NWCA Executive Director Mike Moyer. “This represents the pinnacle of social media marketing in our sport and we are so proud of the program’s efforts this year.”

“The Best of Brand field was extremely competitive this year with over 100 college programs involved in social media marketing,” said ELSM CEO Coyte Cooper. “The fact that we have so many entries indicates that we are continuing to grow our sport through a proactive branding approach at the grassroots level.”

Three winners of this prestigious award will be announced at the NWCA Convention, which is slated to take place from August 1-3, 2014, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The other eleven finalists are as follows: Army, Brown, Eastern Michigan, Lehigh, Neosho, Rider, Sacred Heart, Stanford, UW-Whitewater, Wayland Baptist, and Wheeling Jesuit.

For more information on the NWCA/ELSM’s Best of Brand awards, click here.